Ball gate



Oct. 7, 1958 d K 2,855,203

BALL GATE Filed April 26, 1954 @flL/M/LM 36 1 H INVENTOR.

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United States Patent BALL GATE Donald E. Hooker, Wilmette, Ill., assignor to Raymond T. Moloney, Chicago, Ill.; American National Bank and Trust Company of Chicago, executor of the estate of Raymond T. Moloney, deceased Application April 26, 1954, Serial No. 425,430 Claims. (Cl. 273-121) This invention has as its principal object the provision of an improved ball gate and switch for use in ball-rolling amusement games.

A ball gate is a device which permits a rolling ball to pass onto the playing field from a projecting alley or the like, but prevents the ball from moving in the opposite direction.

The improved ball gate herein disclosed includes a ball-operated switch and a special mounting and shield means therefor, as well as a pivoted gate piece which is especially shaped and rugged and not susceptible to breakage of a sort commonly encountered with prior gate devices.

The various aspects of structural and functional utility and novelty which characterize the invention will appear as the following description proceeds in view of the annexed drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a ball-rolling game board illustrating the use of a ball gate;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary vertical section through a ballrolling field and showing the new ball gate in elevation;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to that of Fig. 2 showing the gate in opening operation;

Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the ball gate (with cover removed) as seen in the direction of lines 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a top view of the gate unit looking in the direction of lines 5-5 of Fig. 4, with the cover plate shown in dotted lines;

Fig. 6 is an end elevation looking in the direction of lines 66 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary vertical sectional detail through the gate structure with parts of the gate switch shown in dotted lines.

The novel ball gate 10 is shown in Fig. I mounted upon the arcuate ledge 11 on a ball-playing field or board 12, with the gate unit situated at the exit end of a ball-rolling or projecting alley 13 at the lower end of which is a ball-projecting plunger 14 of known type, the players proper manipulation of which will cause a waiting ball 15 (from delivery hood 16) to be propelled up the alley 13 and past the gate 10, the latter preventing such ball from reentering the alley.

The entire board 12, and hence alley 13, is customarily inclined so that the far end, at which the gate 10 is located, is higher than that at which the projector 14 is located, and consequently it would be possible by projecting the ball with just the right initial force to permit it to roll back into the alley; or, a ball which had left the alley exit conceivably could rebound into the alley, as from a bumper hazard 17, and from these and other conditions which can arise in such games, it would be possible for more than one ball to be present in the alley in alignment before the plunger 14 to cause a jam-up in front of the delivery hood 16, among other possible trouble, and thereby interfere with the proper operation of the ball delivery mechanism (not shown). Ball gates are therefore necessary to prevent reentry of any ball into the projecting alley; and they are also used to operate supervisory switches to signal the departure of a properly projected ball from the alley 13 as an incident to controlling various automatic instrumentalities, the proper operation of which depends upon the existence of such an incident and condition.

As viewed in Fig. 4, the gate unit consists of a bracket having a pedestal or base part 20 with an upwardly and outwardly offset overhead projection or part 21 including down-turned lugs 22, 23, and 24 (Fig. 3), adapted to overlie the ball alley 13.

Mounted in the vertical web 25 of the offset and the down-turned lug 22 is a horizontal pivot pin 26 (Fig. 4) pivotally supporting a thin, somewhat V-shaped gate plate 27 of spring metal, which has a pendant, tapered ball-engaging tongue or limb 27A (Fig. 4) and a shorter switch-operating offset or tail 27B (Figs. 2 and 5).

The gate plate has a pair of tabs 27C pierced to engage the pivot pin 26, and the switch-operating olfset 27B, in the closed condition of the gate, engages the overhead part of the bracket as a stop (as in Fig. 2), this stop part of the gate plate also preferably being tapered, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5. The pivotal axis of the gate through pin 26 is situated near, but not at, the apex of the V-shape, so that the longer leg 27A normally pends down (as in Fig. 2).

Struck up from the base part 20 of the bracket is a switch-mounting lug 30 (Figs. 4 and 6) pitched up wardly at an angle to the plane of the base. A conventional stack-switch 32 of the construction especially evident in Figs. 5 and 7 is mounted on the pitched lug 30 by means of screws 33.

As viewed in Fig. 7, the stack switch includes at least two leaf-spring contacts 32A, 32B, and the latter has an offset operating extension 32C which projects through a window 25X punched out of the web 25 in the bracket, whereby to underlie the gate tail 27B, so that when the gate opens in a clockwise direction as shown in Fig. 3 (counter-clockwise in Fig. 6) the tail will bear down upon the switch-operating extension 32C and depress the latter and separate it from contact 32A, thereby actuating or opening the switch (as in Fig. 7). The gate switch 32 is to be connected in a control circuit (not shown) usually concerned with the mechanism for elevating balls (via hood 16) into the alley 13, and disables such circuit until any projected ball is positively out of the projecting alley, i. e. beyond the gate 10.

The operation of the gate is illustrated in Figs. 2 and 4, wherein the ball 15A is shown approaching the gate, while in Fig. 3 the ball is passing beneath the elevated gate and the tail 278 has engaged and depressed the switch contact extension 32C to open the switch, in the manner depicted in Fig. 7, it being observed in Fig. 3 that the overhead stop lug 23 limits the opening movement of the gate in this action.

The rearward lug 24 is larger than lug 23 and extends downwardly far enough to shield the switch blades on the outer side of bracket web 25 from wire probes and like fraud contrivances, as well as from blows by a bouncing ball.

The gate structure is completed by a cover plate 35 having three sides, the outer edge of one of which is offset to provide a mounting flange 36 (Figs. 1 and 6) pierced to receive mounting screws 37. This cover shields the switch from view as well as from fraudulent probes.

Owing to repeated impacts by the relatively heavy steel balls used in such games, breakage of the gate pieces has been a common occurrence; but this source of trouble is now largely overcome by the novel tapered shape of the gate part 27A, which allows some yieldability near the lower and narrower or apex or impact end of part 27A, where the ball strikes in outbound, as well as rebound, directions.

The simple angular switch mount 30 provides an accurate but inexpensive means for pitching the stack switch blades so that the angle of engagement of the tail 27B with the switch-actuating blade-extension 32C gives the latter a nearly linear operating thrust, the actual operation of the switch being effected very near the end of opening movement of the gate, so that switch action is positive; and fluttering, false operation from hesitantly approaching balls, incapable of passing the gate, is reduced, while positive switch action is practically assured for any ball approaching with sufficient force to move the gate the last four or five degrees of permitted displacement. This angular arrangement of gate members and switch blades presents a greatly reduced tarding effect on the advance of a ball because there is a minimum pressure on the ball from the gate during the major part of its opening movement, and such loading as is applied thereby occurs only during the last few degrees of opening movement, at which time the ball is fully beneath the gate part 27A (as in Fig. 3), and this pressure persists at a maximum for an instant only during the moment the true diameter of the moving ball is fully beneath the edge of the tapered gate leg 27A.

1 claim:

1. in a ball gate, a bracket including a base and an upwardly and outwardly offset overhanging part; a gate member in the form of a blade of thin springy metal bent into approximately V-shape with one of its side legs longer than the other and forming a dihedral angle, said gate member being mounted to pivot beneath said overhanging bracket part along an axis extending parallel to the planes of said legs adjacent the juncture therebetween with said longer leg adapted to hang pivotally beneath said bracket part in the path of a ball rolling therebeneath in one direction, said ball when striking said pendant part with at least predetermined force in said direction pivoting the gate out of the way, said shorter leg limiting retrograde movement of the gate in the opposite direction by engagement with a part of said bracket, at least said longer leg being tapered from the region of said axis and narrowing a substantial amount at the pendant end thereof whereby to render at least the pendant end portions of the leg yieldable to ball impact therewith for relief of ball-impact stresses and damage resulting therefrom.

2. A ball gate structure comprising: a base adapted to seat in a horizontal plane and having an upwardlyextending and horizontally offset overhanging part; a gate piece having two legs and pivotally supported in pendant attitude from said overhanging part with one leg on each side of the pivotal axis thereof, one said leg being longer than the other to be struck by a ball rolling beneath said overhanging part and the other shorter leg; at switch-mounting lug struck up from said base at an angle to the plane of the latter, and a switch seated on said lug with a contact blade part extending in a normal plane beneath said other and shorter gate leg to be engaged by the latter and moved a distance by a substantially linearly-directed pressure to operatively engage said switch blade in a nearly parallel relation to said normal plane responsive to movement of said gate by a ball engaging said longer leg thereof.

3. The construction of claim 2 further characterized by the provision of a downwardly angled stop lug on one side of said overhanging part above said pending leg, and another downwardly directed protective lug on the opposite side of said overhanging part and of a dimension to shield said extending switch blade engageable by said other gate leg without projecting into the direct path of a ball moving toward said pending leg.

4. A ball gate adapted for mounting in the path of moving balls in ball-rolling games, and comprising an approximately V-shaped rockable member of fiat blade stock and having a rocking axis extending parallel to the planes of the two legs of the V in the region of the junction between said legs, one of said legs being substantially longer than the other; bracket means including an overhead offset part and means thereat for pivotally supporting said gate member in the path of moving balls for rocking movement relative to said axis and in pendant condition from said overhead part with the longer leg normally in position to be engaged by a ball directed to move therepast; control means adapted for use in said ball-rolling game and carried by said bracket with a movable control part projecting into the path of one of said legs for actuation by the latter responsive to rocking movement caused by a ball; means on the bracket engaged by the rockable member to limit movement thereof at least in the direction of. return of the longer leg to normally pendant ball-obstructing position; said rockable gate member being formed of spriugy metal and both of said legs being narrowed in the region of their free ends to provide relatively springy yield-ability to impacts of a ball therewith.

5. A construction according to claim 4 further characterized by the provision of a cover plate seating upon said bracket and including a part shieldably covering a substantial extent of said control means and at least a portion of the rockable member, and further having stop lug means positioned on at least one side of said pivotal axis and engaged by and limiting movement of the rockable member in one direction toward non-obstructing position.

References Cited in the file of this patent 

